While Carnival Spirit may be looking fine and refreshed after her month-long dry dock, guests onboard the first post-update sailing have discovered a salty problem – saltwater.

The ship is still having some maintenance completed and for the moment, there is no filtered drinking water available and even taps in guests’ staterooms are saltwater.

Word of the issue has spread and details have emerged from those onboard the 14-night transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami.

Concerned and curious travelers have reached out to Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, for more information about what seems to be a very unusual situation.

“I have just gotten a message from a friend and current passenger aboard the Carnival Spirit transatlantic. She told me there is no drinking water onboard, the sink and showers are saltwater, the drink stations don’t operate, several cabins have flooded, and the pools are empty and closed,” one guest described.

“The Spirit just came out of dry dock. We sail on her for the next sailing on the Miami-Seattle Panama Canal Journeys Cruise. Will with issue interfere with that sailing?”

Heald was quick to respond to the guest’s concerns and set their mind at ease about the next cruise.

“Yes, that is correct,” he confirmed. “We have informed the guests that we are doing some maintenance and everybody has bottled water and everybody is having a wonderful time. I’ve heard this directly from the senior manager on board. Thank you so much and there is nothing to be concerned about.”

Another guest onboard verified that the pools are closed, and it’s easy to get bottles of water from nearby bars.

The nature of the ongoing maintenance has not been disclosed, but it may have to do with the reverse osmosis or desalinization filtration system. This would explain why the water in showers and bathrooms has become salty.

Undoubtedly the work is ongoing with every nautical mile the ship sails, and fresh water will be returned to taps as quickly as possible.

Isn’t All Work Finished in Dry Dock?

It can seem surprising that even after a month in dry dock with updates, renovations, and refreshments going on all day and night, the work may not be completed on a vessel once she sets sail again.

Shipyards prioritize what tasks are necessary for the ship to be seaworthy again and complete all technical updates that have to be done to permit the ship to sail. Smaller systems or aesthetic work may not always be finished before the dry dock end date.

Read Also: How Do Cruise Ships Get Fresh Water?

If this happens, the ship can still be certified to sail but the work continues as she is underway. This can be astonishing to guests, especially when their cruise experience is impacted on what was to have been a renewed and refreshed ship.

Many years ago, I was aboard the first post-dry dock sailing for Fantasy (before she became Carnival Fantasy, and long before the ship was eventually retired and scrapped).

During that cruise, no pools or whirlpools were open and some staterooms on lower decks had plumbing difficulties. Along the Riviera Deck stateroom corridor, there was no carpeting!

Understandably, the line at the Guest Services desk was lengthy and many guests were complaining about the state of the ship and problems in their individual rooms. Every time we walked past the desk, the staff remained cool and polite while they helped each guest.

By the end of that 3-night cruise, the floor was carpeted, hallways cleaned up, and other than the pools remaining closed as we debarked (pools are always closed on debarkation morning), you’d never know there were any lingering problems.

Undoubtedly, the engineering team, maintenance workers, and specialized contractors are hard at work aboard Carnival Spirit to finish up the last details of her updates and maintenance.

Guests on the ship’s forthcoming cruises – her 15-night Panama Canal cruise to Seattle, followed by her Alaska season – are sure to enjoy all the upgraded features and new spaces onboard and all the fun that Carnival Spirit offers.

Eating healthy can occasionally be a challenge on a cruise, but fresh fruit is a great option for a refreshing breakfast, light snack, or even a sweet dessert. But what has happened to one favorite fruit onboard Carnival ships?

Grapes are one of the most popular fruits in the world, consistently on top 10 lists for tonnage produced or sold. For example, according to The Science Agriculture, more than 74.9 million tons of grapes were produced in 2022 (the most recent data available), and China is the world’s top grape producer.

One place you won’t find grapes, however, is on the Lido Marketplace buffet aboard Carnival cruise ships, no matter where in the world they may be sailing. But why not?

One guest recently noticed the absence of the tangy fruit clusters and reached out to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, for an explanation.

“We’ve noticed that the ships do not serve grapes on the buffet or in restaurants. They have them onboard, as we have seen them used on fruit baskets,” the guest explained.

“Just curious if there is an operational reason. … From the kitchen tour days of years ago we know that bananas are only available for the first few days, but just general curiosity on grapes?”

To be clear, the guest is asking about fresh grapes, not the raisins that may be available as part of the salad bar. But grapes are conspicuously absent from fruit displays, fruit salads, or general snacks at the moment.

“The problem with grapes is the communal picking of them off the vine. It’s not very hygienic,” Heald explained. “We have shared them in bowls before but at the moment we don’t have them on the buffet line.”

He went on to note that it’s possible grapes will return in the months to come, but at the moment, they are simply not being offered.

Why Do Foods Disappear From Cruise Ships?

Different foods that seem very commonplace could be absent from cruise ships for a variety of reasons.

In some cases, as with the aforementioned bananas, the shelf life of the food may be so short that it is quickly consumed onboard or else it will become unpalatable (no black bananas, please, though banana muffins are a good alternative). During a longer cruise, then, bananas would be absent later in the voyage.

Read Also: What to Expect When You Go on a Carnival Cruise

At other times, supply chain interruptions can make a popular food scarce, such as how bacon is occasionally tricky to come by on cruises.

Occasionally, a cruise line will make a decision to eliminate certain foods or food options to offer more efficient service. For example, Carnival Cruise Line reduced made-for-you omelette choices in December 2023, removing mushrooms, spinach, and other less-popular ingredients from the choices to help ease lengthy breakfast lines.

On rare occasions, anticipated supplies of a particular food might run low, or a ship might be inadvertently unable to resupply as planned. This was a concern when Carnival Luminosa was forced to remain at sea for several extra days recently due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, though only the most popular “beverage items” were running low.

Of course, guests looking for grapes aboard Carnival ships can also “bring their own” in the form of a bottle of wine on embarkation day, a long-standing maritime tradition for celebrating a vessel’s sail away.

To be clear, however, guests may not bring their own fresh grapes onboard, as any snacks need to be in the original manufacturer’s sealed packaging. Raisins could be brought onboard if desired, so long as the packages are sealed.

In the meantime, Carnival guests can enjoy plenty of other fruits onboard, including melons, apples, pears, oranges, pineapples, and more. Or my favorite – the chilled strawberry soup!